Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake

This is perhaps my favorite way to eat pound cake! The fresh light flavor of lemon blends beautifully with the buttery flavor of pound cake. The lemon syrup tenderizes, adds tartness, and helps to keep the cake fresh for a few days longer than usual. Poppy seeds add a delightful crunch. Lemon blossoms and lemon leaves make a lovely and appropriate garnish.

One 8-inch by 4-inch by 2 1/2-inch loaf pan (4 cups) — most attractive size — or any 6-cup loaf or fluted tube pan, greased and floured. If using a loaf pan, grease it, line the bottom with parchment or wax paper, and then grease again and flour.

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a medium bowl lightly combine the milk, eggs, and vanilla.

In a large mixing bowl combine the dry ingredients, including the lemon zest and poppy seeds, and mix on low speed for 30 seconds to blend. Add the butter and half the egg mixture. Mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened. Increase to medium speed (high speed if using a hand mixer) and beat for 1 minute to aerate and develop the cake's structure.

Scrape down the sides. Gradually add the remaining egg mixture in 2 batches, beating for 20 seconds after each addition to incorporate the ingredients and strengthen the structure. Scrape down the sides.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the surface with a spatula. The batter will be almost 1/2 inch from the top of a 4-cup loaf pan. (If your pan is slightly smaller, use any excess batter for cupcakes.) Bakes 55 to 65 minutes (35 to 45 minutes in a fluted tube pan) or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cover loosely with buttered foil after 30 minutes to prevent overbrowning. The cake should start to shrink from the sides of the pan only after removal from the oven.

To get an attractive split down the middle of the crust, wait until the natural split is about to develop (about 20 minutes) and then with a lightly greased sharp knife or a single-edged razor blade make a shallow mark about 6 inches long down the middle of the cake. This must be done quickly so that the oven door does not remain open very long or the cake will fall. When cake splits, it will open along the mark.

Shortly before the cake is done, prepare the Lemon Syrup:

In a small pan over medium heat, stir the sugar and lemon juice until dissolved. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, place the pan on a rack, poke the cake all over with a wire tester, and brush it with 1/2 the syrup. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Loosen the sides with a spatula and invert it onto a greased wire rack. Poke the bottom of the cake with the wire tester, brush it with some syrup, and reinvert onto a greased wire rack. Brush the sides with the remaining syrup and allow to cool before wrapping airtight. Store 24 hours before eating to give the syrup a chance to distribute evenly. The syrup will keep the cake fresh a few days longer than a cake without syrup.

**Note:**This cake is very attractive made in individual portions. A 6-cake Bundt-lette pan is the perfect size. This recipe will make 6 individual cakelettes, which require about 20 minutes to bake.

Finished Height: In a 4-cup loaf: 2 1/4 inches at the sides and 3 1/2 inches in the middle. In a 6-cup loaf: 1 3/4 inches at the sides and 2 1/2 inches in the middle. In a 6-cup fluted tube: 2 1/4 inches in the middle.

• Use cake flour that does not already contain leavening. Do not use self-rising cake flour.

• Use superfine sugar for finest texture.

• Use fresh baking powder.

• Measure or weigh ingredients carefully.

• If using a hand-held mixer, beat at high speed.

• Use the correct pan size.

• For very even layers and maximum height use Magi-Cake Strips.

• Check for accurate oven temperature.

• Use correct baking time; do not overbake.

• Be sure to use a wooden toothpick to test for doneness. The cake will spring back when pressed lightly in the center even before it is done. If the cake is underbaked, it will have tough, gummy spots instead of a fine, tender crumb.

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Reviews

Excellent recipe, the syrup really gives the cake a nice citrusy flavor that is delicious.
Didn't have time to make it too much in advance but that worked just fine. Served some syrup on the side for those who wanted to add some.
Didn't have enough butter so subbed 100g of apple sauce for 100g of butter. Worked just fine.
Definitely a keeper

This cake was exceptionally good. I added twice the lemon zest called for as I am a lemon lover, and it was fantastic. I was careful not to overbeat. Also, I did not slice the top, nor did I cover half-way through baking and it was not over-browned by any stretch. The brushing with lemon syrup should be mandatory, it softens the crust and gives it a kick. Thank you for posting this! Easy and fun with my Kitchenaid. :)

Easy and delicious pound cake recipe. I recommend mixing liquid and dry ingredients separately at first and then combining them in batches later on. For smoother, fluffier texture mix the liquid ingredients until doubled in volume. Also I added about 1-2 tablespoons of lemon juice to the cake batter for extra flavor. I will definitely make this recipe again

Good but a bit dry. I even weighed all of the ingredients and baked the cake for 55 minutes which is the low end of the time called for. Next time I would check it at 45 minutes. The cake is not dense as a pound cake.

This was the strangest cake that I ever made. The
flavor was good, but it was very dense and dry.
Even the batter was a bit too thick before it went
in the oven. It definitely needs icing, but I would
recommend finding another recipe. Not worth the
trouble of making it from scratch!

A very nice cake. I
made it as a
lighter option to a
flourless chocolate
cake for a family
buffet and it was
very well recieved.
Sadly, I could not
find any poppy
seeds so had to
omit, but I thought
it was very good
nonethless. I made
a simple icing of 2
tbs icing sugar and
lemon juice, which
think I will double
or triple next
time. Also, I lined
the whole tin with
baking parchment
which made for an
attractive
presentation. I'm
looking forward to
making it again.

A great recipe if you need a small cake - my
8 inch tube pan was the perfect size.
Despite the overly complicated directions,
this is an easy recipe. I measured the
ingredients without weighing them. The cake
had a wonderful flavor and a lovely texture.

This is good. I don't think you need to pay attention to all those over-dramatic instructions (I'd feel silly using parchment in a loaf pan), it's just a pound cake. I like this mixing method from The Cake Bible, but it's a pain if you want to make a cake on the spur of the moment and don't have softened butter (you can soften it in the microwave but it's tricky). I used the zest of two Meyer lemons and slightly less sugar, a greased and floured disposable 8-inch loaf pan, measured and didn't weigh the ingredients, and it worked fine. You may well need to cover it (I used a Pammed piece of foil), as it gets pretty brown. It's not as dense as more traditional pound cakes, but it's yummy and gets better as it ages a bit. If you can deal with all the ponderous, self-important directions, there's a perfectly nice recipe in there.

I agree with a previous reviewer's comment that this was more like a tea cake than a pound cake. It was not exactly what I expected, but it was delicious. I made the recipe exactly as written. This would make a good gift.

After trying 4 different receipes for a birthday cake, I finally found the perfect cake! I left out the poppy seeds and lemon zest (used lemon extract) b/c I was aiming for a traditonal yellow birthday cake that did not require more than 3 eggs. I baked it in an 8 inch round,PERFECT! Very yummy with buttercream vamilla icing.

I've been making this cake since I got the "Cake Bible" about 12 years ago. It is one of the best lemon cakes ever and everyone always loves it. The lemon syrup adds a nice tang and moistness to the cake, and the fact that it can be made in advance is a definite bonus! Always weigh the dry ingredients - much more precise than measuring.

Stunning. I made two modifications... used 4 small eggs instead of 3 large, and substituted raw fair trade sugar (whizzed in a moulinex) for the susperfine white sugar specified in the recipe. Absolutely magnificent... I won't ever make a different lemon pound cake again... there's no point, as it could never compare with this one!

Fabulous!!! The instructions couldn't have been clearer and the cake was moist and flavorful. I followed the suggestion of making in mini bindt pans - great idea - they were so cute - my guests loved them.

Fantastic recipe. Like everything else in The Cake Bible, it is perfect. Simple to make, incredibly moist and tasty. I do like the idea of using "european butter", and plan to use handmade Irish butter next time.

The only substition I made was to use regular flour instead of cake flour. This was really, truly amazing! I served it with raspberry sauce and vanilla ice-cream and everyone raved about it. I will certainly be making this one again and again.

I've been making this cake since I got my copy of "The Cake Bible" 15 years ago; it's one of my favorite offerings. The only change I've ever made is to switch to "european style" butter - I highly recommend it. I also make it in mini bundt pans a lot - the little cakes look beautiful. Everyone loves it - the flavor is superb and the texture is outstanding. The cake part is meltingly tender offset by the crunch of the poppyseeds. Follow the direction exactly and it comes out perfect every time!

I was initially intimidated by the recipe, which reads as if it is a difficult endeavor. I forged ahead anyway and followed the directions exactly. I was really dissatisfied with the results. This tastes much more like a tea bread, not a pound cake. Not dense enough for me (as a pound cake should be) and light on flavor. Rather blah. Too much work for the product. I'm still searching for an excellent lemon poppy cake.